The Rise of the Youth in the War of Resistance

"Everyone's point makes sense, but don't forget, this isn't a matter for any of us. Xizi, Wu Yanba, I know this war is unfair to you, and you know why you joined the army, but have you ever thought about why you so resolutely chose to follow the team in the first place, rather than just taking the money and leaving the night of the recruitment?"

Zhao Shaoxin wanted to use the excuse of their coming to temporarily calm their restless hearts.

Li Xi said, "Captain Zhao, as the saying goes—if you take money from someone, you should help them avoid disaster. Since I've already taken the money, I should just do my job well. Otherwise, if I take the money and run back home, don't tell me, I'll be scolded by the villagers. Wouldn't that be embarrassing for me?"

Liu San: "Xi, if you know everything, why are you still thinking of running away?"

Li Xi stroked his beard, unhappy:

"I said, I have an old father at home who is waiting for me to take care of him in his old age. I have to go home and take care of him."

Afternoon also spoke: "And me too."

"Xi, calm down. I know this war is very unfair to you, but think about it, even if I let you run away now, can you get out?"

Li Xi and Wu Hou looked at the passage they used to evacuate the people from the county, and pointed to Zhao Shao, isn't this a good way to escape?

Zhao Shao laughed out loud:

“Are you guys making me laugh?

Do you think that passage is passable?

Have you ever thought about why those people who escaped today didn't choose to go through that door but through the front door instead? "

The two said: "Squad Leader Zhao, just tell us straight away, we can handle it."

Zhao Shao said that going there would mean death, but the two still thought:

"We just sent someone off yesterday, how come we have enemies right away?

We don’t believe it, squad leader.”

Zhao Shao had no choice but to take them to see if the escape route was available now.

When Zhao Shao arrived at the west gate, he was stopped. The guard asked:

"For what?"

Zhao Shao: "Let's go up to the city wall and take a look."

After checking the password and the IDs of Zhao Shao and others, the guard allowed them to climb up the west gate city wall.

Compared with the east gate they were defending, the defense here was relatively weak. There was no one every three steps. There were only sparse torches and patrol teams passing by from time to time.

Everyone climbed up the city wall. It was pitch black outside the wall and nothing seemed to be visible. However, the sharp-eyed Wu Hou was surprised to find a light rising not far away. It turned out that someone was making a fire.

Wu Hou said, "Look, there seems to be someone over there."

Several people noticed it later, but Zhao Shao was not surprised at all. He seemed to have anticipated it and said:

"You said that unless the enemy was besieging us, who would build a fire and stand guard outside the city in the middle of the night? Isn't that crazy?

Now, do you two still want to run away?"

Afternoon, Li Xi: "I won't run away anymore, I won't run away, I won't run away even if you kill me."

Liu San: "Oh my god, doesn't that mean we are now trapped in a dead city? Without reinforcements, we are doomed!"

Zhao Shao asked everyone to raise their hearts again and said:

"This isn't the hardest part. If we keep defending, I'd say we'll starve to death, even if we're not killed by the enemy."

Xiao Si: "I don't want to starve to death, Zhao, so what do you think we should do?"

Li Xi, Liu San, and Wu Hou looked at Zhao Shao. "Yes, Captain Zhao, since you know this, what should we do? We don't want to die."

Zhao Shao said worriedly:

"To be honest, the decision to live was not made by me, but by the captain.

.........

All we can do is do our part.”

A group of people looked towards the freedom outside the city wall and listened to Zhao Shao's views.

But at this moment, a thought emerged in everyone's mind: Can this battle really be won?

.........

苌林

"Report, Captain Zhu, the logistical supplies have arrived."

Qian Youcai said congratulatoryly.

Zhu Kan was looking at the map of Yongxin County, which marked the dispersion of the troops and the strength and weakness of the defending forces since the recent siege.

After hearing what Chief of Staff Qian Youcai said, he finally realized,

"Okay, okay, now I wonder how a small Yongxin County can defend itself.

Come on, take me to see this batch of supplies."

……

There was a heated debate in the Yongxin County Party Committee. Faced with Zhu Kan's powerful attack, the people who had once been steadfast no longer had the determination to defend the city peacefully.

Yuan Wencai said:

"If you ask me, we should retreat back to our mountains and forests and continue our business. It's not pleasant to stay here and watch our brothers who have been through thick and thin together fall before us every day."

Wang Zuo also agreed and said:

"You're right. Staying here means we're just waiting to die. We don't have any reinforcements yet. If the enemy sends reinforcements, what's the point of us defending?"

Liu Zuoshu retorted:

“You can escape, but what about us who were born and raised here?

This is our home. If we escape, how will the people of Yongxin County view us? They will say we are just a bunch of show-offs who can only talk but can't do anything. They even entrusted their children to me, and in the end, I escaped. How can I stand in front of the people of Yongxin County?

Shi Shui also refuted:

"Although the enemy is currently quite strong, I believe you have also seen clearly that our peasant soldiers are not made of clay. Look, the enemies have attacked us several times in the past, and we have repelled them every time.

If it were up to me, we'd have to fight them to the bitter end and see who's the better of us. We can't let the soldiers who've already sacrificed down feel disheartened!"

Listening to everyone's discussion about whether to continue defending the city or retreat to the original mountains and forests to continue being a green forest hero, Wang Shi also began to change from his original unwavering determination to defend the city to now saying to others:

"I know that from your perspective, everything makes perfect sense, but in my opinion, we still have to retreat. This isn't alarmist talk, but rather facts that have made me realize that no matter how this war continues, we will only have one outcome—lose, and lose completely. In the battle of Changlin, we lost 100 men, and the enemy also lost over 100 men, a similar loss. However, we lost our defensive line and had to retreat to the city wall.

And now we have defended ourselves against two waves of enemy attacks, but the casualties are getting higher each time. Look, after one battle after another, the enemy's offensive momentum remains unchanged, but what about us!

But the more you fight, the weaker you become."

Liu Zuoshu saved his face and rarely refuted, after all, it was a matter of human life.

Wang Shi continued:

"Now let's vote on whether to continue to stay or evacuate the county town tomorrow."

.........